World Of Children's Books

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Picture Book - Bear Feels Ill - Karma Wilson (Author) & Jane Chapman (Illustrator)

Recommended for - Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

Oh Bear - last time you were lost in the storm, now you're feeling ill...

When Bear feels ill, it's up to his friends to try and make him feel better. But will they succeed without feeling ill themselves?

Another heart-warming tale of our favourite furry friend, and also known as Bear Feels Sick, it's once more up to Bear's friends to help him with his latest woe. I really do love the fact that they spend so much time making him feel better, only to end up with the same trouble as him, with Bear taking his turn to look after them at the end. A great message for children as to what friendship is about!

I've mentioned this before, but I love how the special duvet that was made for Bear keeps cropping up in the other books - it's a small, but delightful piece of continuity, and I love little touches like this that show the author and illustrator care.

Only one more book in the Bear series to go :(

9/10

Picture Book - Bear Feels Scared - Karma Wilson (Author) & Jane Chapman (Illustrator)

Recommended for Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

And so we return to Karma Wilson's Bear series. Always a pleasure to do so!

In Bear Feels Scared, our furry friend gets lost outside when a huge storm hits the Strawberry Vale. Luckily, his friends are around to help him find his way home, and look after him until he feels safe again.

Poor Bear - Karma Wilson really does put him through some peril at times! If children haven't been feeling sorry for Bear in the past, they certainly will do now. Anyone familiar with the series knows that it'll all turn out OK in the end, but your heart really does go out to him until then.

As ever, the illustrations are lovely, and the words flow together delightfully. At the time of writing, there's only two books left in the series. What shall I do without my regular fix of Bear?!

9/10

Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Picture Book - Don't Wake the Bear, Hare! - Steve Smallman (Author) & Caroline Pedler (Illustrator)

Recommended for Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

Well, this is a change - I've read a book about a bear that wasn't written by Karma Wilson! What a strange world we live in...

Whilst all the other animals make preparations for a party, the bear sleeps soundly in a log nearby. When he is accidentally woken by Hare, will he really be as scary as the animals all fear?

I'm sure you can guess at the answer, but really this is a well-told story. In fact, when it comes to the actual rhythm of the piece, and the way the lines rhyme together, it must be one of the best I've read. It's very nicely illustrated, and I'm sure children will enjoy joining in the animals' worry about how the bear will react when he wakes.

No, it's not quite as good as any of the books in Karma Wilson's Bear series, but it's very good nonetheless, especially the language and the way it all fits together.

8/10

Picture Book - This Is Not My Hat - Jon Klassen (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for - Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

Oh Mr Klassen, you do know how to write bleak humour.

And I love you all the more for it.

Jon Klassen's first book, I Want My Hat Back, is my all-time favourite children's picture book, mainly because of the surprisingly dark humour that he manages to use that had me in stitches, despite it being a book written for people at least 20 years younger than myself. This sequel contains the same type of humour, and whilst it's not quite in the same league, it's still very, very funny, and well worth checking out.

A small fish decides to steal a hat from a much bigger fish, and then escape to where the underwater plants and big and tall, so that he can't be found. However, as you'd expect having read the first book, things don't exactly go to plan...

While children will love the fun of watching the big fish slowly catching up to the small fish, grown ups will again love the wordless manner of how we learn the small fish's fate, and how Klassen manages to put such a dark twist into a story for children. His unique drawing style is as lovely as ever, and the expressions that the characters wear adds to the humour. Who doesn't love a grumpy looking fish, after all?

If you haven't already read I Want My Hat Back, go and get that first. Once that's been read, make sure you pick up a copy of This Is Not My Hat. It's an absolute delight.

I can't help but feel positive that Jon Klassen is going to be a becomes very well known over the next few years. I certainly can't think of a more worthy winner of the Kate Greenaway Award, to be announced soon.

9/10

Wednesday, 27 March 2013

Picture Book - Stuck- Oliver Jeffers (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for: Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

Oh, Oliver Jeffers. You make my life so good.

This is the third book by the author that I've read, and I'm yet to find anything that isnt utterly hilarious and compelling in any of them.

Floyd has got his kite stuck in a tree. No matter what he throws at it, he can't get it to come down. A ladder, the post-man, a house, an ocean-liner...that kite is well and truly stuck.

What skill it must take to make something as ordinary as getting a kite stuck in a tree to be so utterly captivating. The absurdity of the objects thrown, and the capacity of this tree to hold them, will have parent and child in stitches throughout. It's as wonderfully illustrated as ever, and ending will bring a smile that you can't easily remove, especially for those of us blessed with less than perfect memories.

If there's any children's author fast becoming a 'must-read-before-all-else', it's Oliver Jeffers. This man is a genius.

10/10

Picture Book - This Moose Belongs to Me - Oliver Jeffers (Author & Illustrator)

Recommended for: Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

Whenever my son gets given a book for a special occasion, certain names fill me with joy, as I know I'm going to have just as much fun (if not more) than him reading it. I first read Oliver Jeffers' work with The Hueys in The New Jumper, and it was such a fantastically funny story that I was over the moon to read some more.

Joy of joys, this is just as good, full of the same quirky humour that adults will lap up, and the wonderful artistic skill that children will delight in looking at.

When Wilfred comes across a moose, he just KNOWS it was meant to be his. The moose doesn't always obey the rules that Wilfred sets out, but when he does he comes in very handy. However, someone else seems to think they own the moose, and Wilfred needs to set the record straight.

I laughed, and I laughed, and I laughed some more when reading this. Wilfred's list of rules are hilarious, particularly his use of sub sections, as are the mooses reactions to Wilfred's commands. The illustrations themselves are hilarious, and also absolutely beautiful. There's a certain something that makes the artwork unique, which I can't quite put my finger on (being as much of an art critic as I am a fried omlette), but it's instanatly recognisable, much like Jon Klassen's work.

It's hard to emphasise just how enjoyable books like this are. When reading to your child, the most important thing is that they enjoy the story and the pictures, but it's such a bonus when you're laughing to yourself all the way through. It makes your storytelling all the better, and enhances their experience. With that in mind, This Moose Belongs to Me should give you one heck of a storytime.

Miss this at your peril.

10/10

Picture Book - Bear's New Friend - Karma Wilson (Author) & Jane Chapman (Illustrator)

Recommended for: Babies/Toddlers/Younger Readers

I hope you're not coming in here expecting anything but a glowing review. If you've read any of my reviews of previous books in Karma Wilson's Bear series, you'll know just how much I like them. Bear's New Friend is no exception.

Bear is playing one day, when he hears a noise he can't identify or find. He tracks down all his friends, asking if it's them, but eventually finds out it's a new friend altogether. It's another small tale to make you smile, and for children to enjoy being a part of Bear's world.

Karma Wilson's usual sing-song storytelling is as good as ever, as are Jane Chapman's illustrations. In fact, something about the pictures stand out to me as being more bright and colourful than ever. Children could easily enjoy a Bear book marathon one afternoon, and demand to have another straight afterwards. What a shame I've nearly read them all.

9/10